DVD + Blu-Ray:
RAMEAU : LES INDES GALANTES

"Les Indes Galantes" at the Münchner Operfestspiele, staged and choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and conducted by Ivor Bolton: a stunning production!

When the European youth chooses War above Love, Cupid decides to seek out new followers on other continents. The opera thus recounts the way people love, hate, envy or trust overseas, all the while asking its western audience a burning question: how do we love right?

In "Dreams of Babel", a documentary about the dance prodigy Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui released on DVD by Bel Air Classiques in 2010, the choreographer explained how shifting identities, multiculturalism, and his own plural heritage as the son of an immigrant, had shaped his dramaturgy and artistic inspiration. Thus, to take on the stage direction for Les Indes Galantes, whose multiple plots take place in a fantasized exotic « elsewhere » supposed to mirror the European society, meant for Cherkaoui bringing the tension between identity and alterity to a whole new level. And the choreographer pushes his reflection much farther than mere baroque specular aesthetics: his Indes Galantes raise the sensible issues of population movements, fragmented and ever-changing territories and borders, but also the refugee crisis that has shaken Europe to its very core…

For this new production at the Prinzregententheater, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui brought his own dance ensemble, the Eastman company, as well as a brilliant vocal cast, among which Anna Prohaska, François Lis or Lisette Oropesa. Ivor Bolton conducts a Münchner Festspielorchester at the top of its game.

Bonus : Behind the Scenes (14 min)

Release Date: 24 November 2017

Genre Opera
Recording location Prinzregententheater, Münchner Opernfestspiele, Munich
Production year 2016
Duration 194 min. (opera : 180 min. + making of : 14 min.)
Director Andy Sommer
Distribution DVD Naxos Distribution
Composer Jean-Philippe Rameau
Orchestra / Band Münchner Festspielorchester
Conductor Ivor Bolton
Stage Director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Dance Company Eastman
Soloist Anna Prohaska
Soloist Lisette Oropesa
Soloist Cyril Auvity
Soloist François Lis
Soloist Elsa Benoit